Franco Carillon Composition Proposal Contest

The submission window for the 2027 contest is closed. Congratulations to the winners! See the results.

The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) invites submissions for the Franco Carillon Composition Proposal Contest. The carillon is a uniquely public instrument whose sounds soar over city squares, parks, and college campuses. Composers who write for carillon broadcast their music to eager listeners and chance passersby alike, while introducing new ideas to an extensive and growing repertoire. Are you ready to contribute?

The GCNA encourages composers who are relatively new to carillon composition to enter the Proposal Contest in order to receive support through the compositional process of a new carillon piece. The goals of this contest are to bring new voices to the carillon repertoire and to increase awareness of the carillon and its vast technical and expressive capabilities. Held every two years, the contest is named in honor of Johan Franco (1908–1988), an accomplished composer and key historical figure in the GCNA whose compositions for carillon numbered in the hundreds, many of exceptional quality. Prize-winning proposals will be awarded US$2,000 and will be published and premiered at the next GCNA Congress.

What we're looking for

Type: Entries must be a proposal to write an original composition for carillon. Your proposal should contain:

• One to three sample scores demonstrating your best work in any genre. At least one of the sample scores must be paired with a corresponding audio recording. While scores for any instrumentation are welcome, we particularly encourage keyboard and/or solo instrumental scores, and/or any scores you would consider most related to the carillon.
• A description of your compositional experience (suggested max 250 words).
• A statement (about 500–1,000 words) detailing the ideas and direction of the proposed work. Sketches or images (e.g. motivic material, themes, compositional structure) may be submitted as well.

Open to: Everyone, except members of the Franco Committee. Composers who have written extensively for carillon will also generally not be considered and should instead enter the Franco Composition Contest; for example, composers who have had several works published by the GCNA or similar organizations, previously won a prize for an original piece of music written for carillon, etc.

Quantity: Only 1 entry is allowed.

Submission deadline: June 16, 2026.

No entry fee.

Prizes

Two prizes will be awarded. Both winners will receive US$2,000. Their compositions will be published by the GCNA, promoted on the GCNA website (see Publication and copyright), and premiered at the 2027 GCNA Congress.

How to enter

To enter the competition:

1. Anonymize the materials of your proposal by removing your name and any identifying information.
2. Email your anonymized proposal and your contact information to franco@gcna.org.

That's it! Questions? Email franco@gcna.org.

What to expect after you enter

The jury consists of the following members on the Franco Committee: Simone Browne, Deborah Hennig, Alex Johnson, Tiffany Ng, Abby Pan, Scott Orr, and Charles Zettek Jr. They will evaluate entries based on their usefulness to the carillon community, namely their effectiveness on the carillon, playability, originality, and general musical interest.

To preserve anonymity, we ask that you not contact any members of the jury, directly or indirectly. Send your questions to Franco Committee co-chair Julie Zhu at franco@gcna.org.

Key dates

• Winners announced: On or by August 22, 2026
• Completed score due: February 1, 2027
• World premiere: June 2027 at the GCNA Congress

Composition tips and requirements

To familiarize yourself with the carillon, we recommend starting with these resources:

• "Composing for the Carillon: Recommendations and Examples" by John Gouwens (and his companion video)
• "Composing for Carillon" by Joey Brink

The work you will compose must be playable by a solo carillonneur on a 4-octave carillon (C–D–chromatic–C4; low C♯ omitted), with a 2-octave pedalboard (C–D–chromatic–C2). Notating outside of this range is permitted provided that substitutions are given in the 48-bell range. You may wish to limit your pedalboard range to 1.5 octaves (C–D–chromatic–G1) as many carillons (particularly European standard) have that reduced range. Arrangements for 2-octave carillon are welcome (again with low C♯ omitted). The piece should be a minimum of 3–4 minutes long, and a general duration of 3–7 minutes is common.

Public performance of any winning composition prior to the 2027 GCNA Congress is grounds for disqualification.

Publication and copyright

By entering the contest, you agree to the following requirements regarding publication and copyright should your proposal win:

• Winners must warrant to the GCNA that their composition, when completed, does not violate any existing copyright in whole or in part, and that they have the lawful right to authorize its publication.
• Winners agree to grant full copyright and licensing rights to the GCNA.
• If the winner has any arrangement with any performing rights organizations (e.g. ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, SOCAN), they must instruct the affiliated organization not to collect performance fees solely on the basis of this composition. In some cases, this may entail waiving rights to performance royalties.
• Along with submission of their completed score, the winner is required to declare their AI use, if any, according to the following 2 options.
• • Option 1: No AI tools/technologies were used in the completion of this composition.
  • Option 2: I acknowledge the use of [insert name(s) of AI system(s) and link(s)] to [description of your usage of generative AI]. The prompts used include [list of prompts]. The output from these prompts was used to [explain use].

2027 contest results

Thank you to everyone who participated. Each entry comprised examples of composers' prior works for any instrumentation, a statement of compositional experience, and a written proposal for a new carillon work. The jury evaluated the anonymized submissions and selected two proposals to receive prizes. The winning composers will now write the pieces over the coming months.

Winner: Damian Magrean

Composed work: To be announced

Damian Magrean is a composer and pianist from Gdańsk, Poland, currently studying composition at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk and the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. His works have been performed at the New Waves Festival, the Film Music Festival in Gdańsk, and internationally in Italy as part of the MOTIVE project. He is a recipient of the Gdańsk Cultural Scholarship (Creative Fund and Mobility Fund), Culture Moves Europe, and the Networks programme, and received an Honorary Mention at the New York International Music Competition (2024) and the Renata Gleinert Composers' Competition. An active member of the Laudate Arte Association, he draws inspiration from Shostakovich, Górecki, and Dutilleux.

Winner: Anselm McDonnell

Composed work: To be announced

Anselm McDonnell (born 1994) is an Irish/Welsh composer whose music has been described as "abrasive and compelling" (Irish Times) "speaking with gentleness and mystery" (New York Classical Review) "a feast for the senses" (Morning Star) and "the cutting edge of musical creativity." (Opera Journal). A diverse range of interests in cross-genre and multimedia art has led to collaboration with rap artists, lighting designers, poets, filmmakers, dancers, and actors, including the 5-star reviewed Politics of the Imagination, a rap opera commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra. Commissioners of his work include the BBC Singers, National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, Helsinki Chamber Choir, Crash Ensemble, and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

Past prizewinners

Purchase all Franco Contest prizewinners published by the GCNA at our music store.